Tinker Bell – She is free to be herself! Plus I love found things. I love picking up running treasure while I am out on the road. Interestingly enough money and tools are my most frequent finds. Of course the money is usually just pocket change and the tools are almost always wrenches!

How long have you been a runner?

I started running in high school to stay in shape between fall and spring rowing seasons. I have been running ever since then to varying degrees. I started racing after the my older daughter was born in 2000. She often raced with me in her jogger. It is great to have your support crew with you and a place to put your bottle. Races were very baby jogger friendly then. So I have been running for about 25 years and racing for about 12.

Erin as Tink at the Princess Half Marathon, 2012.

What is your favorite runDisney event?

Princess as of right now, but I am going Dopey at WDW Marathon weekend so that might change. I know you are asking about events, but my best personal runDisney running moment actually happened this July when I flew to Disney World for an overnight and planned an amazing runners trip – DisneyRunFest2012! I guess you could say it was my own runDisney event. Several other runDisney social media pals joined me for an evening run around Seven Seas Lagoon. It was amazing! I had always wanted to run around the Monorail resorts and see MK from every vantage point. We capped the evening off with fireworks and desserts at the Polynesian! But the best moment for me as a runner came the next morning when I got to go for a run with Bob Hitchcock from Disney PR at POR. It was amazing to get to run and chat about our running experiences before heading to rope drop at MK. Although this is a highlight of my runDinsey experience as an athlete, it is not the moment I chose for my Moms Panel application. That moment is even more special to me as a runner and a mother! (You can find my posts about DisneyRunFest2012 on my blog…just look in my July posts.)

Erin, Bob and Marcia.

What is your favorite non-runDisney event?

It is a tie between the last race that I ran and the one that is coming up! By that I mean I am a runner who lives in the moment. As an athlete you are as good as you are on any given day. Sure some races may be more exciting or have a better expo, but it is very much about how well I am able to compete. Did I get my pacing right? How about my fueling? Did I have fun? If I can answer yes to all of these I had a great race…whatever the clock says! I am running my 3rd marathon next weekend at the Marine Corps Marathon. People tell me it is better than Disney. We will have to see! It could very well be my next favorite non-Disney race!

What got you interested in the Disney Moms Panel?

I love talking about Disney, runDisney racing, gear, fuel, you name it! Sharing my experiences and helping others plan theirs is amazing. runDisney has encouraged so many folks to get out there and be active, but they have lots of questions. Being able to help them out so that they will have a great experience is critical if they are going to stay active beyond race day and runDisney again!

Anything else you want to add?

If anyone want to chat about runDisney they can also find me at my athlete page on Facebook “for the love of Disney running”. We are logging our miles as runDisney race weekend training e-teams. Here is where the upcoming race weekend teams stand as of Oct 20th. (We started logging miles Memorial Day Weekend…so we have come a long way baby!) Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend (W&D) – 2939.45; Walt Disney World® Marathon Weekend (WDW) – 4831.7; Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend (Tink) – 686.25; Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend (Princess) – 3533.65; Expedition Everest Challenge (EEC) – 3.1; Dreaming of runDisney – 358.4 (No one is left out! If your race is farther away than Expedition Everest you can log your miles with the Dreaming of runDisney e-team!)

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Wow! Wishing you lots of luck at the Marine Corps Marathon this weekend, Erin – and cannot wait to see you at WDW Marathon Weekend 🙂